My little thoughts on the world of sports

Month: July 2017

Mike Schmidt. No third baseman in the history of baseball can quite compare to what Schmidt did in his career for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is the only third baseman in history to amass over 100 career WAR. He led the National League in home runs eight times, runs batted in four times, OPS five times, and OPS+ six times, including five seasons in a row. Sometimes, we…

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“Why don’t we trade these five prospects that are meaningless to me for Mike Trout?” Through all of my years on the Internet, nothing has ever amused me more than some of the trade proposals that are thrown out there by fans, thinking that 500 pieces of an old Yugo can be traded in for a Rolls Royce. As a fan of the sport, I love to think up many…

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1. The Clayton Kershaw Injury Calling Sonny Gray! Calling Yu Darvish! Dodgers, Line 1! The Dodgers, having a season for the ages, had their biggest nightmare occur this afternoon when Clayton Kershaw was lost to a back injury. He was instantly placed on the disabled list. The good news for the Dodgers is that they are very secure in their playoff position, so if they feel that Kershaw…

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July 18, 1999. My brother-in-law was able to secure tickets to a game in the Bronx between the Yankees and Expos. A rather mundane interleague match-up between David Cone and future two-time Yankee Javier Vazquez. The biggest story leading into the game had nothing to do with a matchup between a veteran star and a youngster coming into his own. Rather, it was the return of Yogi Berra…

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1. The Home Run Derby To be perfectly honest, I hadn’t watched the Home Run Derby since…..I am not sure. My best guess was the Mark McGwire–Sammy Sosa derby at Fenway many moons ago. The All-Star Game and its festivities typically don’t interest me as much now as they used to. Maybe I will pay attention next year, since the series is now tied (and the two leagues have…

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The Nationals and Athletics made a fairly significant deal this afternoon, as the Nationals attempt to turn around their bullpen fortune: The particulars: Washington Nationals Receive: RHP Ryan Madson, LHP Sean Doolittle Oakland Athletics Receive: RHP Blake Treinen, LHP Jesus Luzardo, 3B Sheldon Neuse If you follow baseball even casually, you know one of the biggest holes among the contenders was the Nationals’ bullpen. Entering play on…

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I know the players probably love the 4-day All-Star Break, but I hate it. Of course, I hated the 3-day All-Star Break. I could go for no All-Star Break at all, actually – while understanding that the Player’s Union would never accept that. I loved the Home Run Derby this year. It was fun to see some of the young stars shine a bit, and have fun with…

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This is also known as the “What the heck was I thinking?” column. I am going to take a look back at my preseason predictions, just to see how wrong I have been. Before the season began, my division winners were the Blue Jays, Indians, Astros, Mets, Cubs, and Dodgers. My wild-cards were the Mariners, Red Sox, Nationals, and Pirates (?). The PIRATES? Was I being serious? My…

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1. The All-Star Game I have to admit that I have lost interest in the All-Star Game through the years. I still like to watch the introductions, but the game itself hasn’t fully held my interest. It is more of a background noise. When I was growing up, it was a HUGE deal. This was because you rarely saw teams that didn’t play in your market or in your…

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American League C – Salvador Perez, Kansas City – This is not a no-brainer, as Gary Sanchez has certainly made his case. Perez goes over the top because he has played more (staying on the field counts!) and has played better defensively. Perez is the only American League catcher who has played enough to qualify for the batting title at this stage of the season, which is a pretty…